Showerhead or the like



en g,

G. E. HANSEN 2,727,784

SHOWERHEAD OR THE LIKE med nec. 2, 1952 Dec. 20, 1955 wef: 660236152 wemUnited States Patent() SHOWERHEAD R THE LIKE George E. Hansen, ElmwoodPark, Ill., assigner to Crane This invention relates to a showerhead,spray means, or the like.

It has for its object the provision of a simple and in expensiveconstruction whereby the yjet or discharge orifices and the outlet gapthereof are easily and automatically kept free from the collection offoreign matter normally having a tendency to clog and otherwiseinterfere with proper and desirable spray characteristics.

It has further for its object the elimination of objectionable dripping.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in considering anillustrative embodiment of this invention which is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a fragmentary sectionalassembly View of the novel showerhead in the operative or sprayingcondition;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of -Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. l but showing theshowerhead in the fully open and re- `tracted position.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews.

The following is a description of the embodiment illustrated:

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, the showerhead, generallydesignated 10, comprises a casing or body 11 apertured therethrough forthe passage of fluid and secured, as by threading (not shown) to a fluidsupply pipe (also not shown) by means of a conventional apertured ballconnector 12. The head portion 13 of the latter is received within thehollow upper portion of the body and is retained therein for the swivelaction by the usual inwardly formed portion 16 at the top of the body.Packing is provided at 17 and is maintained in tight, uid sealed contactwith the head 13 by means of coiled compression spring 18 which abuts atransversely disposed lannular partition or spider 19 at the bottomthereof, bearing against an interposed Washer element 20 at the top ofthe chamber.

The partition may be formed integral with the body 11 but is shown as aseparate member of annular form threadedly received Within the body at22, said member dividing the showerhead into upper and lower chambers 23and 24, respectively. Openings annularly disposed are provided at 25around a raised center portion 26 for iluid supply to the lower chamber.

The lower limits of the chamber 24 are defined at the bottom by anannular base portion 29 supported from within said chamber by a shank orstern 3i) threadedly received at 31 in the hub of the partition. A lockscrew 32 secures the shank or stem and the supported base portion to thebody 11 through the partition 19 to attach them to the latter. The stem3? comprises a straight upper portion 53 of uniform cross section in thepresent instance circular and an enlarged portion 54 presently alsocircular at the lower end adjacent the base portion '29. The outer part33 of the base portion is substantial-ly flat or disc-like and isdefined on outer periphery by a slightly beveled or inclined divergentsmooth annular surface 34 as shown. An annular ring-like member 35 ismounted within the body 11 -as by threading at 36, the said memberproviding the casing or body with an in warclly directed portion orflange 37 at substantially the lower end thereof. The latter flangeportion is positioned in transverse alignment with the outer part 33 ofthe base portion and being preferably of the same thickness, lt isdefined inwardly by a smooth annular surface `38 havingthe sameinclination or divergence as the annular surface 34 of the base portionand forming an annular outlet gap 39 therewith of uniform width.

Mounted on the upper straight portion 53 of the stem 30 forreciprocating movement within the chamber 24 is an inverted cup-shapedmember 40 apertured at 41 "for said mounting and having an innerperipheral surface 52 for additional support and guidance thereof byengagement with the outer surface 55 of the enlarged end portion 47. Thecup-shaped member is also provided with a liat annular face portion 42for overlapping abutting contact with the coplanar interior flatsurfaces 55 and 56 of thet'flange and the outer part of the basemembers37 and 33, respectively. The face portion is made with spaced,annularly arranged radially transversely extending grooves 43 around theouter periphery or edge thereof (see Fig. 2) for the formation of aninner series of discharge orifices in cooperation with the upper annularedge 44 'of the body ange 37 at such time as the cup-shaped face member40 is in the lower abutting or spray forming position shown in Fig. l.The latter position it should be understood is assumed as soon as thewafer supply is turned on by reason of the action of uid pressure beingapplied on the upper surfaces of the reciprocally mounted face member40. A relatively light 'coil spring 45 is provided to raise or withdrawthe member 40 from seating or abutting contact with the toppof the angeand base portions when the fluid supply is shut ofi to then assume theposition shown in Fig'. 3. The spring 45 s housed within the cupped orcylindrical portion of the member and abuts against the upper insidesurface 46 ofthe same and the transversely extending upper surface 43 ofthe enlarged end portion 47 of the stem to effect such retractiveaction.

It should be noted that the grooves or notches 43 have rounded 'orsemiecircular ends or inner surfaces which line up atthe rear or insidewith the top of the annular surface 354 of the base portion and extendforwardly or outwardly over the' outlet gap 39 to form with the sidewalls of the notches and the annular edge 44 of the flange portion theindividual openings or orifices for the production of jet streams whenfluid is flowing under line pressure therethrough. The individualstreams are `directed into the outwardly inclined annular gap 39, beingguided by the concentric inner and outer side walls 34 and38 thereof inthe formation of the annular discharge stream or spray. Best results arehad by forming the recesses or notches 43 so that the inner orrearwardrnost elements thereof are inclined and'in a straight linerelationship with the inclined inner side wall of the gap or annularsurface 34, although vertical notches and other inner wall inclinationsproduce satisfactory spray char acteristi'cs, particularly if theinnermost elements run even at the `bottom with the top of the annularsurface 34` forming y a smooth transition.

The apertured cup or face member 40 iits sufficiently close around stemportion 53 at the ytop and the outer periphery 55 of the enlargedportion 47 `of the stem` at the bottom to afford proper seating andabutting relationship during fluid discharge and guidance and supportduring reciprocal movement thereof. This tit is made suicient as not tointerfere with the free movement of Patented Dec. 20, 1955 ythe member40 along the stem. Moreover, it is desirable that line uid havesufficient access around the'stem to ill the hollow inside of thecup-shaped member and the annular recess 49 in the base portion 29thereby to provide for additional jet streams discharging under pressurethrough the apertures 50 in the base portion.

As previously explained, the reciprocally mounted face member 40 isretracted or lifted by the action of coil spring 4S from its seated orabutting relation with the top of the ange 37 and the upper surface ofthe disc-like margin 33 of the base portion immediately upon theshutting oi of line iiow, To prevent blockage or obstruction of theaperture 25 in the partition 19 and thus insure free and rapid drainageof fiuid thereabove with the elimination of objectionable and frequentlyprolonged dripping, an annular collar or lip extension 51 is provided atthe upper end of the member 40 to stop or limit its upward travel duringsuch retraction. Thus, the fluid stream discharges out of the showerheadthrough the annular gap 39 which has now been opened and fully exposedby the withdrawal of the face member 40 therefrom. Discharge of the uidis further accelerated by the annularly arranged apertures 50 which arealso exposed by the lifting of the member 40, thus providing additionalavenues for drainage from the head when the shower valve has beenclosed.

It will be noted that the collar portion 51 by virtue of its cooperationwith the stem portion 53 also provides for additional support andguidance of the reciprocating member 40 when the latter is returning toits seated or stream forming abutting position (Fig. 1).

The retractable face member and the relatively wide annular gap takenwith the stop 51, all of which provide for free passage of uid when theshower is shutoff, render the showerhead of the present invention selfcleaning by way of substantial ushing of the internal parts and annulargap immediately before and again immediately after the face member hasassumed its operative or spray forniing position, the first flushingbeing under pressure and blowing out any sediment or dislodged foreignmatter in an initial gush. Further, the face member is brought downforcefully by uid pressure into operative abutting relation with the topofthe flange and marginal seat portion of the base to break up, loosenor otherwise dislodge any deposit or foreign matter forming oraccumulating on these members or on the surfaces of the face memberbefore hardening or accumulation thereof has progressed to anysubstantial degree. Also, matter may be dislodged by the impact of thereciprocating cup-shaped face member against the underside of the spider19 during the upward movement thereof, particularly in combination withthe cleansing or ushing action of fluid discharging or drainingtherearound.

The showerhead is thus repeatedly and automatically opened and hushedout during the course of ordinary operation to prevent the small jetorifices or openings from becoming clogged and ineffective and thereforeto eliminate the need of periodic inspection, disassembly and handcleaning.

objectionable dripping is eliminated by the provision of large andadequate passageways for the rapid release and discharge of waterremaining within and above the showerhead after the shower valve hasbeen shut off.

It should be evident from the foregoing description that a showerhead orsimilar spray device of the automatic self-cleaning type has beenprovided which is of unusual, beneficial construction and arrangement ofparts, with improved operation resulting therefrom.

It should also be understood that the drawingk and the above descriptionis illustrative and that the present invention should be limited in thespirit thereof as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A showerhead or the like comprising a body ap'erA tured for thepassage of fluid therethrough, said body having ay shelf-like portionextending inwardly therearound adjacent one end and a base portioninside said shelf-like portion and uniformly spaced therefrom, the innerand outer peripheriesof said shelf-like and base portions respectivelyforming continuous spaced side walls of an annular outlet gap, fixedshank means supporting said base portion from within'said body, amovable member reciprocally mounted on said shank means, said memberhaving recesses spaced around the outer marginal portion thereof, saidportion being adapted at one extreme position of said movable member toprovide abutting engagernent with the interior transverse surfaces ofsaid shelf-like and base portions adjacent the outlet gap whereby tospan said gap to form an enclosed series of discharge orifices with theinner edge of said shelf-like portion for the emission of uid throughsaid outlet gap in spray form.

2. A showerhead or the like comprising a body apertured for the passageof fluid therethrough, said body having a shoulder portion around theinside thereof adjacent one end and a base portion inside said shoulderportion and uniformly spaced therefrom, the inner and outer peripheriesof said shoulder and base portions respectively forming spaced sidewalls of an outlet gap, each of said portions having therebetween atco-planar interior surfaces contiguous to said outlet gap, axiallyimmovable stem means locked against rotation Within the body, said baseportion being supported from within said body by said stem means, acup-shaped member mounted on said stem means for reciprocal movementwithin said body, said member having a flat outer marginal portionaxially grooved around the outer periphery thereof, said latter portionbeing adapted to abut the co-planar interior surfaces of said shoulderand base portions of the body to limit movement of the cup-shaped memberin one direction, said marginal portion thereof spanning said outlet gapduring said abutment contact so that grooves therein form in cooperationwith the gap forming edge of said shoulder portion an enclosed series ofdischarge orifices for the emission of fluid through said gap fromwithin said body.

3. A self-cleaning showerhead or the like comprising a body aperturedfor the passage of uid therethrough, said body having a flange portionextending around an inside end portion thereof and a base portion insidesaid flange portion and uniformly spaced therefrom, the inner and outerperipheries of said flange and base portions respectively formingannularly spaced side Walls of an outlet gap for the said body, saidlatter portions having at co-planar interior surfaces contiguous to saidoutlet gap therebetween, axially immovable stem means non-rotatablymounted within the said body, said base portion being supported fromwithin said body by said stem means, said stem means having a section ofuniform size and shape and an enlarged portion at an opposite endthereof, a hollow cup-shaped member mounted on the uniformgsize sectionof the said stem means for reciprocal movement within said body, thesaid member being additionally supported for such movement andtransversely positioned when at rest by engagement with an outer surfaceof said enlarged portion of the stem means, the said cup-shaped memberhaving a flat outer marginal serrated portion, said cup-shaped memberbeing actuatable by the impingement of uid under line pressure thereonto engage in abutting relation the co-planar interior surfaces of thesaid flange and base portions of the body, the said marginal portionsthereof in the abutting position of the cup-shaped member spanning theoutlet gap so that recesses between the said serrations form incooperation with the gap forming edge of said ange portion an enclosedseries of orifices for the discharge of jet-like streams into saidoutlet gap and the subsequent formation of a fluid spray, resilientmeans mounted within the said cupshaped member for withdrawal of thecup-shaped member from said abutting spray forming engagement uponcessation of line pressure for facilitating a flushing action andrelatively rapid tluid drainage therefrom.

4. A shower bath spray head or the like comprising a body apertured forthe passage of fluid therethrough, the aperture portions including aring-like gap formed to penetrate a transverse end wall of the saidbody, the said wall having on an inner surface portion thereof marginalsurfaces in the same plane dening inner and outer peripheral edges ofthe said ring-like gap, a resiliently biased inverted cup-shaped memberreciprocally movable in said body, the said cup-shaped member having aserrated peripheral portion adapted to overlie and span said ring-likegap upon abutting engagement of the said cupshaped member with the saidmarginal surfaces in the same plane, the recesses of the serratedperipheral portion of the cup-shaped member forming in cooperation withthe ring-like gap a plurality of annularly arranged spaced-apart oricesfor the discharge of lluid through the body passage.

5. A showerhead or the like comprising a body apertured for the passageof uid therethrough and including guide means therewithin, said bodyhaving inner and outer portions adjacent one end thereof insubstantially the sarne plane and transversely spaced from each otherannularly thereby to form an outlet or discharge gap of substantiallycircular configuration, a reciprocally movable member within said body,said member being hollow and slidably engageable with said guide meansfor transverse positioning in a plurality of planes within said bodyupon the occurrence of predetermined tluid ilow, said hollow member alsohaving a series of recesses in spaced annular arrangement on a lowerflanged portion thereof in communication with the iluid flow in saidbody, the said tlanged portion of said hollow member being engageablewith an interior transverse surface of each of said gap forming portionsof the body in abutting relation at one limit of movement of saidreciprocally movable hollow member, the said llanged portion of thehollow member simultaneously spanning said ring-like gap whereby to forma plurality of relatively small discharge orifices with the gap formingedge of at least one of said gap forming portions for the emission offluid from within said body through said outlet gap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,979,104 Gordon Oct. 31, 1934 2,049,141 Schneider July 28, 19362,118,943 Price May 31, 1938 2,211,106 Elliott Aug. 11, 1940 2,222,465Nystrom Nov. 19, 1940 2,348,776 Bentley May 16, 1944 2,680,043 CampbellJune 1, 1954 2,688,515 Filliung Sept. 7, 1954

